Undone
by bits of glass
Summary: Buttercup snaps on Bubbles, for the last time. It's rated 'M' just to be safe, but it probably only needs a 'T'.
1. Chapter 1

((A/N Not only is this my first Powerpuff fic, but it's also my first fic EVER, so excuse me if it's a little crappy. The girls are all 16 in this fic, and if the story lives long enough, there will be pairings. So…yeah…there ya go.))

Sweat was flung off Buttercup's arms she pummeled the super durable punching bag the Professor had designed for her down in the lab. Today had not been the best day. First, Bubbles had woken her up at 4:30 to kill a spider, why she couldn't do it herself Buttercup would never know. Second, she couldn't get back to sleep, causing her to fall asleep in math class later that day, which, do to previous warnings from that teacher, landed her 360 minuets of detention. Third, she accidentally punched a hole in the classroom wall, from being mad at said detention, which gave her a Saturday school. Forth a giant monster attack right after school, and due to fatigue and being really pissed off, she couldn't fight for crap, Bubbles wound up saving the day and taking the glory. And finally when Buttercup got home the Professor lectured her for two hours about how she had no self-control and that if she wasn't careful she could "seriously injure or kill someone."

Well, to hell with him. Buttercup had all the self-control she needed, and there was only one person right now she wanted to "seriously injure" was her annoying, brat of a sister, Bubbles. If she hadn't got her up at four in the fucking morning, things would have been a hell of a lot different. And now, for some odd reason, she was throwing a party! The Professor had to leave on business somewhere around 5pm, and the minuet he shut the door, Bubbles was on the phone with Robyn. Ten minuets later, the place was packed and the music was blaring. Buttercup had fled to the lower levels of the lab almost as soon as the people started showing up.

Normally she would have been livin' it up, but the fact that it was Bubbles', rule breaking party only pissed her off even more. Of course Blossom was probably up there throwing a fit, but she wouldn't dare use her powers with so many people around, some one could get hurt. Bubbles, though was most likely having a blast. Buttercup could almost see it. Bubbles dancing with some random dude she would never talk to again, playing spin the bottle with those preppy, asshole friends of hers, or maybe she was showing off her powers, like lifting a tower of football players. Buttercup punched the dense, several ton bag so hard it slammed into the ceiling 12 feet above before swinging back down.

"Buttercup?" She didn't sound as happy, as someone throwing a wild should, but Buttercup knew it was her.

"Go away, you little brat, I'm not in the mood to deal with your shit right now." Buttercup growled.

"But Buttercup…I really need your help-" Before Bubbles could finish Buttercup snapped, and began screaming,

"Can't you do anything yourself, you ditzy little bitch!?" Buttercup's vision began to go red. "That's all you ever do is whine! 'Buttercup squish this bug,'" she mocked as Bubbles's eyes began to tear up. ""'Blossom, I can't figure this out,' 'Professor, their pickin' on me,' Well I'm **SICK** of it!" Bubbles yelped as Buttercup hit her so hard across the face so hard they both almost fell over.

"Buttercup!" Bubbles gasped before Buttercup began to pummel her. Buttercup could hardly see past the red haze of anger that clouded her vision. She couldn't hear her sister's pleas for mercy. She barley felt her sister's flesh and bone under her fists. Somewhere deep in the back of her mind she knew she'd get in trouble, but she didn't care, all she knew now was the release of hatred and how good it felt, besides, how bad could she hurt her?

Meanwhile…

Blossom was becoming very impatient. She had been screaming at these people to leave for almost 2 hours, and no one seemed to be listening to her. She had sent Bubbles down to the lab to get Buttercup to come and help them 10 minuets ago, and neither of them came back up. What could they possibly be doing? She planned to find out. She slowly made her way to the back the door to the basement, and ducked inside, hoping no one had seen her. She made her way down to the lab and looked around. Buttercup would probably be in the gym… 12 levels below her. With a sigh of frustration she headed over to the elevator and hit the button. After a full minuet of waiting for it, she flew off for the stairs; she'd probably make it to the other girls before the elevator reached her floor anyway.

Again and again she hit the blue-eyed girl. Bubbles put her arms up in a feeble attempt to defend herself, but a crunch could be heard as Buttercup's fist drove into her right forearm, pulled back and slammed a dozen other blows all in the span of a second.

Buttercup pulled back and kicked Bubbles in the stomach so hard it lifted her off the ground far enough far enough for Buttercup to grab her ankle and slam her into the floor several times, hard enough to dent the 30 feet of reinforced titanium. Bubbles couldn't do much at this point. It was hard to even think through the pain, and it's rather difficult to move while one is being slammed around by the ankle.

Buttercup could not control herself, still mostly numbed by the slowly dying rage inside her. She Finally threw Bubbles high into the air and as she fell back down, delivered a powerful side kick to her ribs, sending her flying into through the wall of solid steel, all the way to the other end of the next room.

Buttercup stood there, breathing heavily for a moment. She rubbed her eyes, the last of the red haze dying away, but pulled them back.

"Wha?" Her knuckles felt wet. She looked her hands over, her mind not registering the red stained across them right away. Had she split her knuckles? She glanced around the gym. The floor was dented in a few places, and little specks dotted the area around it. "What the fu…" her voice trailed off. She looked back at the door into the next room and did a double take. There was a huge chunk taken out of it! And at the far end of the next room, lying on the floor facing away from her, was a mass of red and blue. Buttercup walked into the next room, her legs shook and she felt like she had just gone ten rounds with Butch. She stopped ten feet away from the figure. A sickening feeling tied her stomach in knots. She gulped loudly and whispered, "Bubbles?" Suddenly the door at the top of the stairs burst open and Buttercup's head whipped around to see Blossom at the top of the stairway.

"There you are, wher-" Blossom froze mid-sentence catching sight of the heap on the floor. She raised a hand to her mouth in a silent gasp. Her eyes flicked from Bubbles to Buttercup. "What did you do?!" She yelled as she bolted towards Bubbles. She turned Bubbles on her back, and Bubbles gave a small painful groan in response. "Oh, God," Blossom moaned. She looked back at Buttercup. "What did you do?!" She yelled again.

"I… She… I don't know…" Buttercup stammered, her mind was reeling and she didn't feel well at all.

Blossom gently laid a hand on Bubbles forehead, afraid to really touch or move her. "Bubbles? Please say something, Bubbles, please say something."

Bubbles rolled her head to the side looking at Buttercup, her eyes half open, and whispered. "Buttercup," She coughed, causing her sisters to jump as blood flew from her mouth. "I'm sorry…" Her eyes glazed over and Buttercup went completely numb.

"Bubbles?" Blossom began to panic slightly. "Bubbles stay with me sweetie." She put her ear next to Bubbles' mouth, and heard nothing. She wasn't breathing. "Oh, God, no." Blossom started c.p.r., and Buttercup took a few steps back.

"No… I didn't mean…" She ran a hand through her hair as Blossom began depressions on Bubbles' chest. Buttercup screamed and flew off as fast as she could up the stairs, breaking through the door to the upstairs, straight through the roof, and off into the night.

Back down in the lab, Blossom continued c.p.r., fruitlessly for about five minuets before she realized that Bubbles was never going to respond. Tears had been flowing down her cheeks almost since she saw Bubbles. Slowly she reached for her face, and closed Bubbles eyes, knowing that they would never open again. Blossom hugged her sister's body tightly, sobbing, not wanting her to go. "Bubbles," she choked, "Please…please, don't go…please don't go."

((Okay, this is the first chapter and already, I'm like, 'THIS SUCKS, but I'll get better I promise))


	2. Chapter 2

Boomer ran hand through his shaggy blond hair before slipping it back into his blue hoodie. He had been pacing through the cabin for almost a half an hour. He had a feeling that something bad was going to happen. Something very bad. He had changed a lot since Him had brought he and his brothers back to life. His love for doing evil had faded long ago, and only a few months ago had he stopped caring what his brothers thought of him, letting them know it in the form of a drama filled speech that made Butch laugh, but seemed to trigger something in Brick.

"Will you just sit the fuck down already?!" Butch never took his eyes from the TV screen. He was playing Halo 3, and apparently Boomer's pacing was annoying him. He was still just the same. Maybe even worse.

"Is Brick still in his room?" Boomer had gotten used to the harshness in Butch's voice.

"Has he been anywhere else in the last three days? …Dumbass. WOO!! Ha ha! Head shot, bee-yach!"

Boomer sighed and walked down the hall-they had built on a hallway and three separate rooms since evicting Fuzzy-to the door at the end, and knocked.

"Brick?" There came no sound from the other side. "Come on dude, you can't stay in there forever. Besides… I gotta ask you somthin'." Still no response. "Brick?" Boomer turned the handle and found it unlocked. He pushed the door open and gaped in surprise. Brick was not there. And even more shocking, his room was relatively clean! His desk was a little messy and his bed was unmade, but other than that it was pretty clean. Boomer went to the open window, and leaned out looking around.

"Crap." He turned to go get Butch, but an image of Bubbles flashed through his head and he was overcome by a dizzy spell. He fell to his knees and grabbed his head. His head was spinning and he felt like he was going to be sick. A voice in the back of his head cried out,

'_I didn't mean it!'_

Slowly his head cleared up and his stomach mellowed out. He carefully stood up

"Who-?" the voice was familiar, but it was too distant to place. His head snapped around, looking out the window. He hadn't heard anything, but _felt _something. _'What is this?'_ Soon a light green trail of light shot across the sky, and a wave of emotions washed over him. Anger, guilt, sorrow, hate, confusion, regret, and an unbearable pain. Boomer yelped and clutched his head, the unexpected explosion of feelings had over whelmed him, and he thanked God that it passed as the trail of light disappeared from view.

He sat down on Brick's bed, head in his hands. His head hurt as though Butch had just pummeled him mercilessly. "Holy shit." He breathed. _'What the hell just happened?'_ He laid down and focused on relaxing. It was a power he had developed a while ago, to heal himself. He simply relaxed and focused on not feeling whatever hurt. Eventually his headache went away, and he glanced at the clock on Brick's nightstand, and did a double take. The time said 7:03pm. It had taken him almost a half an hour to get rid of a headache! That's the amount of time he'd expect for a minor concussion maybe, but a headache? "Damn." Something was seriously wrong, too much was happening too quickly, he had to think.

"Boomer! Make your self useful, and grab me a beer!" Without thinking about it Boomer left Brick's room and went into the room where Butch was, back to the fridge on the far wall and tossed a beer to Butch. "'Bout time, ya slug. Sundown's in as hour, you in or out?" Butch usually played games or worked out all day, and went out to wreak havoc at night. Boomer never went anymore, and lately neither had Brick. Boomer told him no and said he didn't think Brick was going either, deciding it was better Butch not know Brick was gone. "Pansies." Butch muttered as he took a swig of his drink and went back to his game. "You got blood all over your shirt, by the way."

"What?" Boomer looked down and saw that his hoodie was indeed stained with blood. He went into the bathroom and looked in the mirror. It looked as though he had had a nosebleed. "Man," he took it off and threw it to the ground. Now only in a gray tank top, exposing his muscles-tone yet noticeably smaller than Butch's-and baggy black jeans. "My favorite damn hoodie to…" he washed his face, and wondered when it could have happened. Most likely, he thought, when he had one of the episodes in Brick's room. He died his face off, and went into his room. It was a complete mess. He looked around the floor, which was covered in close, and picked up a hoodie that looked exactly like the last one but a darker shade of blue. After hosing it down with 'Axe' he slipped it on and headed for the front door.

"You comin' back?" Butch had made it clear that he never cared what his brothers were doing, but had dibbs on their rooms should one of them decide to leave.

"Uh… I don't know yet, but I'll let ya know if I come back." And with that Boomer was off, sailing through the evening sky, ignoring whatever derogatory comment his brother had hurled at him.

Buttercup flew for some time in a mostly random direction towards the forest. She didn't care where she would wined up, she didn't care who saw her, all she cared about was getting far away. Tears blurred her vision, and a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions made it impossible to think. All she knew right now was she had to run, far away. But run from what, the pain? The sorrow? Or the fact that she went completely insane and beat her sister to a bloody pulp? What good would running even do when what your running from is _inside_ you?

Eventually she came to this conclusion and lowered her altitude into the trees and plowed clean through at least three before she hit the ground and tumbled to a stop. Slowly she pulled herself to her knees and her frantic mind became a little clearer. She looked around and realized, without caring, that she had no idea where she was. She put her head in her hands and began sobbing.

'_What am I doing? What have I done?! Oh, God, Bubbles I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it! You bugged me at the worst possible time. What am I gonna do? Why couldn't you just stay at your stupid party, why'd you have to make me so fucking mad in the first place?!'_ All of Buttercup's thoughts occurred over top each other, half the time she could barely understand them, but one suddenly stood out, quieting all the others. _'What if she's alive? What if Blossom saved her?'_ She knew that was merely wishful thinking though. The look she saw in Bubbles eyes convinced her that there was no way she could be alive. Her sister was dead. And she was the one who had killed her. Her stomach felt like it was spinning out of control. Her hand shot to her mouth and she had to fight the urge to throw up as she felt bile rise up in her throat. She wasn't winning. She stood up, stumbled against a tree for support, bent over and puked.

She straightened up and took a few steps back, tripping over her own two feet, falling to her back. She didn't bother trying to get back up. She just lay there panting…crying…thinking a million thoughts at once. Suddenly she heard someone coming through the brush, and rolled to her side, propping herself up on her left arm. "Bubbles?" She called in a desperate choked sob.

"Buttercup?" It wasn't Bubble, but it was close.

"Go home Boomer." Buttercup fell back on her back.

"Holy shit." Boomer rushed to Buttercup's side and knelt down next to her. "Buttercup…" He looked her up and down, in relative shock at the specks of blood across her shirt and hands, and the fact that _Buttercup_ was _crying_. It simply didn't make sense to him. "What happened?"

"Go **away**, Boomer." Buttercup growled, her eyes closed tightly, hoping he'd just go away.

"Are you alright?" She remained quiet. "…Is Bubbles alright?" Buttercup sat up, and looked him in the eyes.

"What do mean?"

Boomer looked away. "I-I'm not exactly sure myself, I just had this feeling that… I'm sorry, she's probably fine I-"

"NO!! She's not fine!!" Buttercup yelled putting her head in her hands. Boomer put a hand on her shoulder.

"Is she hurt?" Boomer hadn't hung out with the Powerpuffs a whole lot, but had made his way to Blossom not hating him, Buttercup not trying to kill him, and had sort of made friends with Bubbles.

"…She's… She's dead." After a moment of silence Boomer said calmly,

"What happened? Who killed her?"

Buttercup looked at her hands, them shaking even worse than the rest of her was. She couldn't bring herself to say it.

"Buttercup." She looked into Boomer's eyes, his face was so serious… It reminded her of Brick. "Who killed her?" His voice calm and collected. He seemed determined, obviously to find and bring to justice-or just kill-whoever killed Bubbles. He had changed so much.

Buttercup swallowed, and with the clearest voice she could muster took the biggest risk of her life. "Me."

((WOOO!! Chapter 2!! Yeah, I would've wrote more, but I want to keep all the chapters relatively the same length, and I think stopping here will give me more options for what I'm planning in chapter 3))


	3. Chapter 3

Buttercup had told him everything. From the Bubbles waking her up at 4 to crashing in the forest, and the more she told him the more she realized that she didn't care what happened to her afterwards, she just wanted someone to scream her anguish at and Boomer was the first person she saw, so he was it. Through her whole dialogue he remained silent, listening to every detail, hearing every crack in her voice, watching every tear fall from her face, almost feeling her pain seep into him. He had never been so focused on one thing in his entire life. He'd figure out later that it was the shock that a Powerpuff had killed another Powerpuff, and simple worry for Buttercup that had given his mind this unnatural clarity.

He removed his hand at the beginning of her speech, and now only knelt on one knee beside her completely silent. He looked up at the full moon, almost expecting an answer for what he should do now that he knew. For a split second his vision flashed red, and he found himself in a completely black room. He saw no walls, felt-but didn't see-the floor, but saw himself clearly.

_"Boooomerrr,"_ an almost feminine voice cooed as a pink mist rose and swirled all around him_. "What are you waiting for?… __**Kill her while she's vulnerable,**__ this could be your only chance."_ The mist culminated in front of him and took shape, and the sleek, red skinned form of Him appeared. _"Take her, and Blossom won't stand a chance all by herself."_

"Him." Boomer spat the accused name. "Your behind this whole thing aren't you?"

Him chuckled. _"No. Sorry to disappoint you, I know how much you enjoy daddy's wok, but Buttercup's little hissy fit was of her own accord. You know, hormones, teenage angst, ect, ect." _Him waved his claw as he spoke and walked a circle around Boomer.

"What are you doing to me?" Boomer kept his voice level, but an edge of anger still went with it.

_"Why, I'm only using your newest power as a means of communication."_ Him waved his claw in a matter-of-fact way. _"Don't worry, time is basically standing still for you and me, you can take as long as you want to __**plan her demise**__."_ Him laid an arm gently across Boomer's shoulders.

"I ain't killin' no one!" Boomer said swatting Him's arm away. "And what do you mean by 'new power'?"

_"Silly boy,"_ Him's voice made Boomer's skin crawl. _"Haven't you felt it? The foreboding thoughts of events yet to come, the emotions of those around you, the feeling of someone breathing down your neck when you know you are alone."_ Boomer shivered. Everything Him had said had happened to him in the past few weeks.

"What is this?" He asked in a quiet tone.

_"Sixth sense. The ability to feel supernatural energy fields and something that gives you a deeper connection to the world around you. It occasionally varies from person to person, but I would imagine you and your brothers developed it as a result of you second birth. A byproduct of me bringing you back to life, and adding my own personal flair."_

Boomer turned and looked at Him. "Brick and Butch have this to?"

"Not yet, but they may develop it later in life." Him's eyes narrowed, and his demonic grin spread across his face. "Now… About this 'not killing anyone' business…"

"I'm **not** killin' anyone so go away!" Boomer closed his eyes and focused on not being there.

Him's eyes narrowed further and he growled, _"What are you doing? You aren't going to __help__ her are you? __**What kind of a son disobeys his father like that?!"**_ Boomer glared at Him, eyes narrowed and focused harder, adding a little something.

"You are **NOT** my father!" With that Him received a jolt of blue energy, with power equal to a lightning bolt. In a flash Boomer was back to reality, his hand flying to his face in an attempt to catch the fresh flow of now expected blood from his nose. It was a short gush that covered his hand, and most likely his face. He wiped his hands on his jeans, and wiped his nose with the sleeve on his other hand. No time at all had passed at all while he had dealt with Him. Slowly he stood up. "Come on."

"Huh?" Buttercup sniffled, her crying slowed down significantly during her story, minus a slight fit during the part where she ended Bubbles' life.

"You should probably get home, I'll fly with you." Boomer reached his hand down to help her up, but Buttercup didn't take it.

"NO! I can't go back!" she pulled away slightly, looking up at Boomer with eyes that plead for mercy. Eyes, Boomer was sure, she had looked into not long before. The look of fear and weakness in Buttercup's eyes disturbed Boomer more so than his visit with Him. It just wasn't natural. Even though she was dealing with a life-shattering crisis, even though she was still human, she was Buttercup. She was stronger than this, despite how little he truly knew of her he knew this, and no matter how harsh it sounded, he knew he couldn't completely baby her through this. She wouldn't appreciate it later in life and Bubbles would want her to be strong.

"Why not?" He kept a hard edge in his voice.

"I killed her, Boomer!!" Fresh tears began to form in her eyes just as they had begun to stop.

"So you're just gonna run away? Look at all the other times you screwed up and didn't run! Yeah, none of them can compare to this, but that should be what makes you want to stay and fight! You've never run away from a challenge, and as far as I know you've never lost! And here comes the biggest one you've ever faced, you just want to run away?!" He softened a little as Buttercup cast her gaze downward, away from Boomer. "This isn't you Buttercup. Your strong, you can pull through this."

"But," Buttercup choked in a whimper. "What if they hate me?"

"They aren't gonna hate you." He extended his hand and this time she took it, slowly standing up. "Their your family, they'll help you through this. And so what if they do? If you accept yourself, and need to get through it alone, that's less credit you gotta give. And I can tell ya from experience, that kinda hurt goes away quick."

Buttercup still not looking him in the eyes, quietly muttered, "Thanks, Boomer." as they began to fly off hand in hand.

The Professor smiled as he turned onto his street. He looked to the crate-like animal carrier in the passenger seat with a smile, saying, "Almost home, girl. Bet you're excited, huh?" As he turned his attention back to he road, he wondered what the girls would name her. Bubbles was the one who suggested getting a white lab, but Buttercup had just had a pretty rough day, what with the detention, and the getting grounded, and all. Bubbles wouldn't mind letting her name the dog, she'd probably be to excited about finally _having_ one to care what its name was.

He had told the girls he had to take care of some business out of town, and wouldn't be back until later tomorrow evening, so he couldn't wait to see the looks on their faces. Suddenly his eyebrows knit together, as he pulled into his driveway.

"Hello," he turned off the car. "What is this?" He opened the door and grabbed the dog crate, heading for the house. It looked as though a party was going on, and he wasn't at all happy with that. As he walked into the house his ears were assaulted by loud music, and he felt sorry for the dog. He made his way to the sound system and had to push a few people out of his way to do it. He turned the music off and waited until the annoyed groans quieted some.

"I don't know what you kids are doing here, but I want you all out immediately!"

"Oh, yeah?" one of the kids called, "What're you gonna do if we wanna stay?" A chorus of kids agreed and the Professor narrowed his eyes.

"Situation Charlie Foxtrot." He said with enough force for all to hear. As soon as said it laser turrets came out of random places in the ceiling, and began shooting non-lethal lasers into the crowd, specifically designed to give one a very unpleasant tingly feeling all over one's body. You can imagine how fast the room cleared out as the partygoer's yelled obscenities at him as they left. Once the house was empty, the Professor yelled "Girls!"

From the direction of the lab door he heard a distant panicked scream "Professor!!" He bolted towards the lab door finding it in shattered pieces. Panic rising he flew down the stairs as fast as he could as he heard another fearful cry. It sounded like Blossom, but what was she doing in the lab? And what could have possibly happened to make her sound like that? The Professor hit the elevator down button and the door instantly opened. As he entered he said "Voice command: Blossom's floor." The computer located Blossom's bio-signature, and closed the doors as it began its decent. "Code red." With this the elevator picked up speed so fast that the Professor felt 50lbs lighter. If he would have remembered that he still held the puppy crate, he would have really felt bad, but all he cared about right then was finding his daughter, and helping her.

As soon as the doors opened, he bolted through them getting half way across the room before he stopped cold, dropping the dog crate, breaking open the cage like door.

"Professor…" Blossom whimpered. In her arms she held something that would haunt him till the end of his days, for she cradled the dead body of her blue-eyed sister.

He rushed over to them and knelt down. "What happened?" he asked. His mind was reeling. He instantly knew Bubbles was dead when he saw her. Was Blossom hurt to? Where was Buttercup, was she okay? What the hell could possibly have the power to do this? All these questions and ye he only asked again, "Blossom, what happened?"

The red head looked at him and stammered, "I don't- I came down and Buttercup-" the mix of emotions in her sister's name confused Blossom greatly. "She's dead, Professor!" She buried her face in the Professor's chest. "Bubbles is dead! And I think… I think Buttercup killed her."

The Professor put an arm around Blossom, holding her close, but he could not feel it. He was numbed by what his daughter had just said. His eyes stared blindly around the room. He saw the shattered glass from Blossom screaming, the broken doorframe and the mess beyond, the broken body of his beloved Bubbles, and his eyes finally rested on the puppy, who had wondered put of her cage, and had began trying to lap up the mostly dried blood off the floor.


	4. Chapter 4

((Okay, first thank you to my one reviewer, for reviewing my story with good reviews. And to anyone else who can put up with my noobish writing, I do so enjoy reading reviews, so please, if your bored after reading the story, tell me what you did or didn't like so my next story will be better. Alright, on with the show! Er… you know what I mean.))

Boomer stared up at the house, his sixth sense making the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. For the most part it was inactive, but it still let him know there was a mass amount of raw emotion in the house, and there was more to come. The thought that Bubbles may actually be dead had only made itself remotely real on seeing the house.

_'She's not dead, there's no way.'_ There was no logic to defend his argument, but he knew she had to be alive. She had to be. Slowly and wordlessly he and Buttercup made their way to the door, which was left slightly ajar. The house seemed completely empty, the party must've ended when the Professor showed up, and they assumed that he had come home when they saw his car in the driveway. Buttercup turned and walked into the living room sitting down on the couch.

"What are you doing?" Boomer asked quietly.

"I'm not going down there, Boomer, I can't." Buttercup's tone was barely above a whisper. "Bitch me out all you want, I'll just wait for them up here."

Boomer nodded and headed for the doorway to the lab. How he knew where he was going he wasn't sure, but it was like a gut-instinct was directing him. Slowly he made his way down to the first level of the lab. It was empty, to his surprise. "Where is everyone?" He looked around noticing another staircase, and an elevator on the far wall. "Crap." He began flying down the stairs till he reached a floor marked "LEVEL 13", and walked in through the doorway and down the staircase, stopping halfway down as he saw the scene below and the reality of the entire situation finally hit him. "Holy hell…" he breathed in shock, causing the Professor to look up.

"Boomer? What are- never mind," the Professor stood. "You need to leave, now."

"Buttercup said she killed her, but I…" he wasn't sure what he had thought. Maybe he thought she was exaggerating, maybe his mind just couldn't absorb the truth. Whatever he may have thought, he now saw that Buttercup had indeed killed Bubbles. And it wasn't a very clean kill. The Professor's eyes had widened at Boomer's words.

"Where is she?" his voice was urgent but not angry…yet.

"Upstairs," Boomer said as he slowly walked towards Bubbles. "On the couch."

The Professor rushed to the elevator, saying, "Blossom stay with them." As he stepped into the elevator many things where rushing through his mind at once. It didn't make biological sense for Buttercup to be able to do _that_ much damage to Bubbles. And why had Bubbles not fought back? What would he do with Buttercup? Blossom was an excellent hero, but without her sisters… He wasn't even sure she could manage with Buttercup, let alone without. But the last thing he thought as the doors closed was. How does Boomer fit into all this?

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Blossom brushed a lock of hair from Bubbles' face. "How could she do this?" The question wasn't directed at anyone, but Boomer still shook his head. He knelt down on the other side of what was once Bubbles. She was covered in bruises and small cuts, only the larger cuts seemed to have bled, her right forearm was bent like it was made of rubber, and her left eye had been blackened.

_'You see now…'_ Him's voice echoed in the back of Boomer's mind. _'What's to stop her from killing Blossom? …What's to stop her from killing you?' _Boomer's hands balled into fists, and he clenched his jaw.

'What did you do to Buttercup to make her do this?!'

Him laughed his hollow, feminine laugh. _'I already told you, son, Buttercup was just in a bad mood, that's all. She didn't mean to take poor Bubbles' life. But the beast inside her took control.'_

"I'm not your son!" He glanced at Blossom, she didn't seem to have heard him. _'Get the fuck out of my head!'_

_'If not for the sake of evil,'_ Him cooed. _'Then do it for Blossom, for the Professor, for all the innocents who cannot defend themselves. __**Kill her**__, before she kills everyone else.'_ He actually had a point there. If she could do this to her sister, someone she knew loved, what would she do to someone she didn't know? She could be a serious threat to society. Him's presence seemed to vanish as Boomer began to think this. Him was such a heinous creature. He thrived on hatred, fed on human suffering. _'Wait… Then why would he want me to stop Buttercup, when she could do so much damage? Wouldn't killing her be hurting Him?'_ That didn't really matter right now though. What did is what he was gonna do. Above all else he didn't want to help Him. But a tiny voice-a conscience maybe-in the back of his head told him he could help her, that she could pull through this and never harm an innocent again. But what if she couldn't? What if she destroyed all of Townsville?

Boomer stood and started walking towards the stairs, but stopped as he heard a small yelp. He looked down and saw a small white retriever puppy. "Sorry 'lil guy." He whispered as he bent down and picked up the small animal. He looked over his shoulder at Blossom. She had her face in her hands, obviously crying. "Blossom," she didn't react to his voice. "You gonna be okay?" After a moment of silence Boomer turned and headed for the stairs, but stopped noticing a door labeled 'Med-Lab'. Suddenly he got an idea, and a sick, exited feeling in his stomach. He glanced at Blossom; she was oblivious to the world. With a deep breath he entered the room.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Professor was close to running up the stairs, and when he reached the top he almost tripped out the door. He only stopped for a second before walking to the living room.

"Professor?"

The Professor's eyes watered up and he turned away pinching the bridge of his nose and leaning against the wall. "Why'd you do it Buttercup?" Despite how quiet his voice was he knew Buttercup could hear him, even though she didn't answer. "Why'd you **do it,** Buttercup?!" he pushed off the wall, still not looking at his raven-haired daughter.

"I-" Buttercup choked back a sob. "I don't know… I just-"

"You don't know. She's dead Buttercup!" Buttercup couldn't speak past the lump in her throat. "Can you at least tell me what the hell happened?"

"I…" Buttercup swallowed hard. "I remember… she said something and… m-my vision got all blurry and… and then she was…"

This entire thing was too insane, too unreal. She said she couldn't remember much, that her vision blurred, and when it cleared… Maybe she didn't do it purposely, maybe she was under some kind of influence, maybe she was breaking down, maybe she was going through a unique stage of development apart from her sisters. Well, sister anyway. The Professor was determined to figure this out. But he couldn't let Buttercup go. He needed a story, and a good one. He also needed to make a few calls. Mayor Bellum would be an excellent help. He'd have to make a few calls. As he began to walk away he heard Buttercup whimper, "Professor… Please…" The anguish he felt as her parent right now was nearly unbearable.

"I've already lost one daughter tonight… I'm not letting you go to."

"I… I'm sorry."

"…We all are." The Professor turned and walked off, he had quite a night ahead if him. As he walked back down into the lab, he passed Boomer and grabbed his arm. "Boomer listen, I can't thank you enough for bringing Buttercup home, and I absolutely hate to ask, but we may need more help, here." Boomer simply nodded. "Good, now we're going to have to lie to the police. So if they talk to you, all you know is there was an accident in the lab, and Buttercup told you this, not me." Boomer nodded again. "Good. Thank God for you, Boomer. Will you just stay with Buttercup for now, please?"

"…Yeah." The Prof. thanked him and went off down into the lab. Boomer turned and slowly walked up the stairs. As he walked into the living room, he sat the puppy down on the floor, and it began to explore its new surroundings as he put his hands back in the pocket of his hoodie. "You really fucked her up." Buttercup looked up and uttered a small moan, seeing the look of anger and hate in Boomer's eyes. She buried her face in the couch and began to sob. "What have I done?" she groaned quietly.

Boomer frowned and knitted his eyebrows together. _'The hell?'_ He could feel grief, sorrow, anger, confusion, and extreme sadness. He got the impression that she hadn't killed Bubbles, but rather could not stop some one else from killing her, which was obviously not true, but this is what her emotions suggested. And he didn't need a sixth sense to tell him that she probably couldn't stand, let alone pummel him to a bloody mess. He fiddled with the duranium knife he had stolen from the med-lab. He had come up here heart-set on ending Buttercup's threat, but now he thought that maybe she really couldn't help it. Maybe she was as much a victim as Bubbles was.

He knelt beside her and put his hand on her shoulder. He needed to know more. Boomer knew that he wasn't the smartest guy on the planet, and his jumping to conclusions without the whole story had led to a good deal of bad situations. So until he knew every last detail of what was happening, he'd hold on to the idea that Buttercup would get better. And if she didn't… He would have to hold on to that knife.


	5. Chapter 5

((well, this chapter pretty much wrote itself. I was going to have Brick and Boomer fight, but it didn't really work out that way. I don't really think it's bad though.))

The Professor plopped down in a swivel chair in front of a computer monitor. He had just finished the examination of Bubbles' body about half an hour ago, under the supervision of an autopsy specialist. It took an hour of debating to finally convince the doctor that they didn't need to cut up his daughter to figure out how she died, and with his own equipment the Prof. proved his point. Before that, though, he had had a very long talk with Mayor Bellum and the police chief. The mayor being the only one of the two knowing the truth.

With a sigh he switched on the computer, and monitor. The screen lit up and the tower began to hum softly. When the home page opened up, he opened the security camera footage from today and scrolled down to the level 13 gym footage. He fast-forwarded to when Buttercup came into view. Seeing his green-eyed daughter made his stomach lurch with a complex fusion of love and hate. This only drove him to try and find a reason for this madness even harder. After a minute or two he fast-forwarded again until he saw Bubbles timidly poke her head, then stopped the tape a moment. Bubbles was so sweet and innocent always cheerful and happy, what could drive her own sister to do something as heinous as to take this radiant child from the world? From her family? From him? He was so sad and angry, confused about the whole situation. He clicked the play button and the tape continued at normal speed. There was no sound, the cameras where built to be as quiet, small and stealthy as possible, and since he was no expert in spy gadgets; he could not fit in a microphone.

Soon he saw the pivotal moment, Buttercup threw the first punch, and the tape got slightly fuzzy. The professor narrowed his eyes, as he saw Buttercup land the second punch the screen fuzzed out completely.

"What the-" roughly the next ten minutes of tape was nothing but snow. "Why would that be?" the Professor thought out-loud. He ran a diagnostic and discovered that the malfunction was due to a power surge that interfered with the system. But what could have caused this power surge? All the equipment in the entire lab was shut down, except for the lights on the first and thirteenth levels of course. An e.m.p. device would have be to far fetched, someone would have to have come into the lab and set it off, and an unfamiliar face to the cameras would have immediately come up when he turned on the monitor.

Mojo had some very creative technology, but he was supposedly still in jail. Princess had not bothered the girls in a few years but he kept the option in mind. He pushed his swivel chair over to another monitor that was already on and tried to locate the source of the power surge. After a moment there was a ding noise and a small window opened saying; 'Energy spike located on level 13 in gym complex at approximately 6:21 pm on March 14, 2007.'

Under this window was another window that showed a blue print of the thirteenth floor. The gym room was flashing red, a small circle not far from the center of the room, a small line leading from it to a small box that said; 'Approx. location of energy spike.'

"Huh…" the Professor rolled back to the first monitor and clicked on the camera footage from the room adjacent to the gym. The camera was less stealthy and positioned near the stairs, giving a view of the whole room. He fast-forwarded until he saw Bubbles float down the stairs and slowed it to normal speed. He watched her walk into the next room, heard some dialogue that was too distant to accurately decipher, and then Buttercup began screaming and at after a second or two the video became hazy but he could still see what was happening, just no in the gym. He could hear Bubbles' screams for help, a vicious fight-or beating really-, and couldn't take it. He hit the fast-forward button and turned away hitting the stop button as he saw Bubbles' lifeless form fly through the doorframe.

With a deep sigh he turned back to the screen, desperately fighting the lump rising in his throat. As the tape continued the fuzz disappeared, and he saw Buttercup walk into the room. A look of pure fear and honest confusion on her face as she stopped about ten feet away from Bubbles. The professor pinched his eyes closed. Despite how quiet it was he could hear Buttercup's shaky voice whispered, "Bubbles?"

He stopped the tape. Buttercup's voice had been so full of fear, so sad and confused. Like she hadn't killed Bubbles' but arrived at the scene to late to help her. What could have possibly happened? Mind control? Mental breakdown? Split personality? Anything, any answer at all that would have this make sense would be a blessing, but it was all to confusing. The source of the energy spike that caused the power surge was near where the girls had been, and that was a clue he sure. Could one of the girls have caused it? Bubbles was instantly ruled out of that theory, or she wouldn't be dead, but Buttercup…

Suddenly he felt someone tap him in the shoulder and when he turned around he only saw a fist in his face.

Boomer's eyes shot open. He thought he had heard something but as he listened the house was silent. He still sat in front of the couch, Buttercup's hand in his. She was sound asleep. _'How'd that happen?'_ Carefully he removed his hand from hers and slowly hovered to a standing position-well, floating actually. Hovering into the next room he noticed that the door to the lab was open. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, and a familiar feeling crept into him. Someone was down there who should not be, but whoever it was meant no harm… at least not to anyone here.

Quickly and quietly he flew down into the lab. Altogether there were 15 floors and 3 sub levels throughout the facility, and his sixth sense pulled him all the way down to the 15th level. The door was open, not to Boomer's surprise, and he slowly hovered into the room and listened. Off in the distance there was a low hissing sound. He followed the sound through the expansive floor in the dark, and eventually made his way to a room, whose door was closed, from behind it came the hissing noise. He opened the door and walked into the room. A massive machine encompassed the entire wall to his right. Across the top of the machine was spray-painted the words; 'Duranium Carver Deluxe 2000½.'

To Boomer's understanding duranium was the strongest material in the universe. Tougher than diamonds and, if it can be cut, sharp enough to pierce anything. Even the skin of a Powerpuff or Rowdyruff. But who would want a hunk of duranium?

"Hey, Booms." Boomer looked to the side and about 15 feet down the wall standing near a console was his brother Brick.

"Brick? What are you doing here?" He took a few steps towards his brother, but stopped seeing the red haired Ruff tense up.

"I could ask you the same question, lil' bro."

"Brick, whatever you're thinking, there's no way I'm thinking the same thing 'cause I don't even know what that thing is." Brick seemed to relax a slight bit, relieved that his brother; 1: didn't seem hostel, and 2: that he _was_ still and idiot. "Now what are you doing here and what the hell is this thing." Boomer didn't try to get any closer.

"That's personal, don't worry about it. And this thing…" Brick looked at the machine. "Is almost done with a little toy I'm makin'." Suddenly the hissing stopped and a hatch near Brick opened up pouring steam into the room blanketing him and Boomer lost sight of him in it. Soon there was a 'swoosh' and a 'click' as the hatch closed and when the steam cleared away, Brick had what looked like a sword tied to his waist.

Boomer's eyes widened, "What… Is that what I-"

"Yup. A duranium katana." Brick anticipated Boomer's question and fingered the hilt while he answered.

"Wha- Whats it for." Boomer seemed slightly afraid, what with the whole, one Puff killing another thing.

Brick narrowed his eyes and looked away. "Him."

Boomer tilted his head. "Him wh- Oh. That Him. You can't 'im alone, dude."

"I have to. Butch is too far-gone; he'll never do anything for the greater good. And-" Boomer cut him off.

"This mean you're a good guy now?" Brick was quiet for a moment. Boomer could feel his hesitation, as if this one moment time decided his role in life, like this was the final tug that would pull him to the right side of the tracks. Finally he looked up at Boomer, his eyes filled with determination to repent for his past mistakes, and nodded. Boomer smiled. "Give me some time bro. I know you probably want to take Him down as fast as ya can, but wait for me a month or two. I wanna help, but I've got my own problem I gotta work through right now."

Brick grinned. "Girl troubles?" Boomer looked away saying, "You have no idea. You'll probably hear about it on the morning news, actually."

Boomer's seriousness erased Brick's grin. "You alright bro?" it wasn't a phrase they often uttered to each other.

"Yeah. Look, I wanna get through this on my own, without your help, for once.

"Booms…"

"It's somthin' I need to do." Brick thought a moment and nodded.

"Thanks Brick. I'll come find ya when everything's cool." They turned and headed for the stairs, flying. "And try to talk to Butch if ya can. He might be an asshole but he's still our brother."

"…I'll try."

When they reached the upstairs they hovered to the front door. Brick opened it up but as he was about to take off he turned around. "Hey, Booms…"

"Yeah?"

Brick looked like he was trying to say something very difficult, and after a moment of indecision he finally gave up and muttered, "Good luck, man." And flew away.


	6. Chapter 6

Professor Utonium slowly opened his eyes with a groan

Professor Utonium slowly opened his eyes with a groan.

"You alright Prof.?"

"Boomer?" The Professor sat up. "What happened? Did you hit me?"

"Uhh, yeah," Boomer scratched the back of his head. "I um…sleepwalk."

"Really?" The Professor was a little agitated as he pulled himself back into his chair. "Every night?" He opened a drawer and pulled out a large bottle of Advil.

"Um, no not really. Only once in a while," Boomer shrugged as the Prof. swallowed his a couple pills. "I was, like, nine the last time it happened."

"Huh…" Suddenly the Prof.'s eyes lit up as if he had remembered something highly important. He spun to face the computer and quickly typed in the desired commands.

"What? What's goin' on?" Boomer had felt the Prof.'s sudden excitement, and it had unnerved him slightly.

"I'm running a comparison between the energy signature of the surge from earlier with all the other energy surges that originated in this house over the years." He leaned back in his chair. "Which will take awhile."

"And that means?" Boomer leaned over the back of the chair and eyed the screen.

"Well…when you mentioned the time gaps in your sleepwalking habits, it made me think. When the girls develop new powers or old ones strengthen, they give off very unique energy signatures. That being said, I've developed a theory that Buttercup is developing a new power that, though difficult to control, gives her enhanced strength and speed, at least. It _may_ even enhance _all_ aspects of her physical and paranormal abilities. If that theory holds, I'll find a match in several other surges related to Buttercup's development in the past."

"…You thought all them big words in 2 seconds?" Boomer got the gist of what the Prof. was saying but some of the language lost him.

"1.356 seconds, actually."

--

Several years ago Buttercup decided she wanted her own room. So a wall was built in the girls room and an extra room was added in the hall just left of the original door. Currently Blossom was curled up on Bubbles' bed, clutching Octi. She had cried herself to sleep moments ago, her mind completely numb at the time.

_"Oh, how adorable!"_ Blossom's eyes snapped open and she sat straight up.

"Whose there?" her voice shook slightly.

_"Why Blossom, I'm hurt."_ The feminine voice cooed sarcastically. _"I know we haven't played in a while, but don't tell me you've forgotten me."_

"Him." Blossom's eyes narrowed. "You're behind all this." She growled as her eyes scanned the room.

_"As much as I would love to take credit for all the delectable hatred rolling off you, I'm afraid that honor goes to Buttercup. Sad she had to lose her mind."_ Him refused to take physical form, and his voice echoed eerily throughout the room.

"What do you mean?" Blossom stood and kept her eyes moving, keeping an eye out for anything that would give the wretched demon away.

_"Exactly what I said, dear child. It would seem that with all the crime, corruption, and villainy day in and day out… Well I'm surprised she lasted as long as she did."_ Blossom froze. It made perfect sense, she herself had come close to a mental breakdown a year or two back. _"So you see,"_ She could picture Him's sinister grin as he spoke. _"You girls have destroyed yourselves, __**I've finally won. **__It's only a matter of time before she kills you to. And even if you can stop her- which would involve you killing her, something __you__ can't do- it would just be poor little you against all us mean ol' townsvillians."_

Blossom was completely locked up. She could find no flaw in Him's logic, no way out… no way to win. She couldn't _see_ straight, let alone think straight; the whole situation was too much for her mind to process at once.

_"I'll just let that thought fester in your infantile little brain for awhile. I give it a week before one of you caves and kills the other." _The evil thing laughed his low sinister laugh that slowly faded into the darkness that choked all rational thought from any normal human. Blossom was no normal human of course. But that didn't matter, nothing mattered, it was over. Everything was over. Her sister was going to kill her out of madness and then be killed by Satan's metro sexual cousin who would then go on to destroy the town and take over the world. _'Whoa, slow down Red.'_ She thought. _'Just take a sec to calm down, and think this through. There has to be something, someway out of this.'_ She sat down on the edge off Bubbles' bed, her face in her hands, and realized without caring that she started crying again. Eventually she could think coherently and considered her limited options. She could always confront Buttercup head on, but that would be unwise even with Boomer's help, look what she did to Bubbles. If Him had been correct, talking to her would most likely prove fruitless, as crazy people tend to lack logic. She could nullify Buttercup's powers using the Antidote.

_'That's it! Antidote X, why didn't I think of that sooner?'_ Blossom pushed her hair behind her ears. _'If Buttercup really has lost it then she can't be held responsible for her actions, and without powers we could get her proper help.'_ She knew where it was too, the Professor kept on the tenth floor, in a very well fortified safe. She would do it now before Buttercup could wake up and do more damage. Blossom stood and started for the door but stopped and gave a heavy sigh. 'What if she wakes up before I get to her?' The Medical Wing was on the same floor as the Chemical Research Wing-the tenth. She would grab a duranium surgical knife or something from there. Her stomach did a flip at the thought, but she would need to defend herself somehow if Buttercup went berserk again.

Slowly Blossom opened the door and hovered down the stairs. Slowly, quietly, she crept to the lab door and once she got there she headed down the stairs at a rapidly increasing speed, but stopped dead on the stairs leading to the 3rd level. Her heart was beating so fast se feared she was having a heart attack, she hadn't expected anyone to be awake, let alone done here. But as she looked down upon the Prof. and Boomer, she listened to the Prof. explain a theory on why Buttercup … did what she did. She couldn't believe she hadn't thought of it. It was like 'duh!' to an extreme degree. _'And I was going to…'_ if the Prof. was right, then Blossom's plan would have made the situation a hundred times worse. Especially with a duranium knife involved.

"…You thought all them big words in 2 seconds?" with Boomer's dimwitted remark Blossom decided to make her presence known.

"1.356 seconds, actually." She had said it more quietly than intended but they must've heard for they both spun around in surprise, Professor Utonium standing when he saw it was she.

"Blossom, are-… You should be in bed sweet heart." The Prof. tried not to show how worried he actually was. He needed to stay sharp.

"I'm fine Professor. I … I just couldn't sleep so… I heard everything you said." Blossom hovered down to where the other two stood. The Professor sat back down, realizing that telling Blossom to go back to bed would be pointless, and asked, "What do you think?"

Blossom rubbed her temple and sighed. "It makes sense. We can run some tests in the morning." She then turned to the blue-clad, dumb one. "Boomer, can you stay tomorrow?"

Boomer nodded. "I can stay as long as ya' need me."

"Good," As much as Blossom hated to admit, there was a chance the theory was wrong, and if so, "We may need you." The computer chimed and all attention was drawn to it. As Blossom read all the 'positive match' results-reffering to Buttercup of course-a thought came to her that made her pinch her eyes closed to fight back tears. _'Only the good die young.'_

((Sorry this took so long, but what can I say? That's life.))


	7. Chapter 7

Professor Utonium slowly opened his eyes with a groan

The endless sea of darkness surrounded her, blinded her, deafened her, became all she knew, became the whole of her existence. This terribly frightening darkness that had taken her from herself and taken her very soul. This warm loving darkness that had taken away her pain and wrapped her in it's maternal embrace. In the manic confusion she forgot everything, her home, herself, and her life. It seemed an eternity that she floated in this infinite abyss of confusion that distracted her mind from all things. But the complex mix of fear and comfort soon started to fade, and like waking from a dream Bubbles opened her eyes.

Slowly the blue-eyed girl sat up. _'Where am I?'_

The haze that clouded her mind was clearing, but her mind was still caught in the limbo of drowsiness that comes with waking from a deep sleep. After a minute or so Bubbles stood and started to hover, which seemed easier than usual, as if the gravity had been turned down. She was in the lab. On the gym level. _'How'd I wined up here?'_

Bubbles then became aware of the abnormal chill of the room as she shuddered as she rubbed her arms. Something was very wrong here. She didn't like the feel of the room. The energy was to dark, to weighted down by a stew of negative emotions. Fear, anger, sadness, sorrow, and a deep wretched feeling of loss. As she hovered over to, and up the stairs Bubbles tried to remember what she'd been doing before she'd fallen asleep, or lost consciousness. To her dismay, however, she could not recall anything past math class that day…or yesterday. She wasn't sure how long she'd been out.

As Bubbles climbed through the levels of the lab she stopped at the first floor wherein she found her redheaded sister, her father, and her friend Boomer. Apparently she was not the only one who was cold, because Boomer to was rubbing his arms, and he was in a sweatshirt. Blossom though seemed fine in her pink t-shirt. _'Weird.'_ Bubbles thought passively.

"Hey, guys." Blossom and the Professor didn't seem to notice her, but Boomer obviously had as his head whipped around, and upon seeing her, his eyes grew wide and he stumbled back tripping over his own two feet. "Boomer?" this reaction was unexpected and a little worrying. "Are you okay?"

As Boomer scrambled backwards away from the blue clad apparition, his vision flashed red and he once again found himself in the black room, confronted by non other than hatred personified, Him.

"_What seems to be the matter, Boomer? You look as though you've seen a ghost."_ Him chuckled. Boomer couldn't believe it. Had it been Him projecting the image of his lost friend? Was he trying to mess with Boomer's mind? Boomer's face changed from shocked fear, to bitter hatred. He jumped and rushed forward, yelling "FUCK YOU!!" and throwing an energy charged punch at the beast who disappeared just before Boomer's fist made contact.

"_Tsk, tsk. Such a temper."_ Him's voice emanated from the surrounding darkness_. "And here I am trying to help you."_

"Help me?! Makin' me see shit is helping me?!" Boomer's eyes filled with tears. He hadn't realized the impact Bubbles's death had really had on him. "Come out you mother fucker! Come on!!" Him chuckled at Boomer's emotional outburst.

"_Boomer,"_ Him cooed. _"You know as well as I do that the thing you saw just now was no product of mine. You felt her wake up, felt draw closer, and heard her speak. That was a ghost, silly boy, no illusion."_

"You're lying. You're fuckin' with my head!" Boomer could barely accept the fact that she was dead, let alone accept the thought of her being trapped in the limbo of being a ghost. Although whatever it was he saw _did_ feel a lot like Bubbles.

"_Boomer. If I was the one making you see her, why would I bring you __here__, _**away**_** from her?**__"_ Boomer tilted his head; Him had a pretty good point.

"So… so why _did_ you bring me here, if your not makin' me see stuff who is?" Boomer rubbed his eyes and tried to calm down.

"_Ahh, to be so young and naïve… No one is playing with your mind, dear son. This is merely a part of your new power."_ The pink mist that Him often appeared as snaked it's way around Boomer, not threatening but severely annoying.

"Aw, great…" Boomer ran a hand through his hair. "Does your little gift ever stop givin'?" Him chuckled at this comment.

"_Actually Bubbles will most likely be the only ghost you'll ever have any significant contact with."_ The mist spiraled into a pink cloud several feet in front of Boomer. _"She was very powerful, so naturally, her ghost is strong enough to be seen by you. I'll be shocked if you ever see another."_ Him's evil yellow eyes faded into existence while his form remained a fog like cloud. "But what matters right now is that she knows nothing about her death. She might not even remember who she is."

"What do care?" Boomer spat. "You ain't getting her soul, if-"

"_**No, you insolent-"**_ Him cut himself off. _"You can use her as an instrument of buttercup's destruction. Pull the right strings and poor little Bubbles will drive the murderous wretch mad with guilt." _The creature paused a moment. _"She may even take care of herself."_ he purred.

"No." Boomer shook his head. His head was hurting pretty hurt. He guessed that, though relatively easy to get a handle on, his brain still wasn't yet unaccustomed to huge waves of solid emotions, which was basically what Bubbles was. Even in life. "Buttercup ain't crazy, and I am not going to kill her, alright? Now FUCK…OFF!!"

In a blinding flash Boomer was back on the cold tile floor of the lab, hand over his nose to catch the blood. This nosebleed seemed smaller than the first two. Immediately he jumped up and hovered up the stairs.

"Boomer?" Blossom had apparently noticed he was no longer hovering over her shoulder.

"Uh, bathroom." He muttered as he continued upstairs and out of the lab.

"I hope he's okay." Bubbles said as she drifted over to Blossom and the Prof. "What'cha doin' guys?" as though was not even there, the two kept on watching the screen. "Hellooo?" garnering no response her second try either, Bubbles tapped Blossom on the shoulder, but Blossom ignored it. "Fine," Bubbles huffed. "Be that way." For a while she floated there, silently before deciding they were going too ignore her until they accomplished whatever goal they sought, and turned to float upstairs. "I'm gonna go check on Boomer, I think his nose was bleeding." Again they gave no response, but Bubbles wouldn't have waited to hear it anyway.

As Boomer dried off his face a thought crossed his mind about his encounter with Him. _'If Him wanted me manipulate Bubbles to drive Buttercup nuts….'_ Boomer thought. _'Why can't he do it himself? He's better at that kinda thing anyway, right? What the hell makes me so damn important?'_ Boomer gazed into his own dark blue eyes staring back from the mirror, almost looking for answers within himself. _'And what about the whole 'kill Buttercup' thing? That still doesn't make sense.' _Nothing about this whole ordeal made sense. But it wouldn't matter once the Prof. and Blossom figured out how to help Buttercup control her new power. _'If that's what it is.'_ Boomer shook the thought from his head. _''Course that's what it is, can't be nuthin' else.'_

"Boomer? You okay?"

Boomer froze and his stomach lurched. 'Oh, God, please…don't be real.' Slowly and with wide eyes he looked up to see Bubbles a look of worry on her face. Boomer could almost see though her. "What's wrong?" at the sound of her voice Boomer looked away pinching the bridge of his nose and making a choked sort of squeak. _'Oh, God. …Oh God, oh God, oh God.'_ His mind was reeling; he hadn't prepared himself for this. Not only was he to help the family of his dead friend cope with her loss, but now he was supposed to help said dead friend cope with her own death, when he himself had not yet even dealt with the loss _he_ felt.

"Boomer?" Bubbles laid a hand on his shoulder and a sob escaped him, as he pushed his fists against his eyes.

"Boomer!" Bubbles embraced him and did her best to sooth him. Little did she know that- for the first few minutes at least- she was only making it worse.


End file.
